LUANDA: Angola continues to be a transition zone for illegal trade of ivory, rhinoceros horn, pangolin scales, gorillas and wild birds, Secretary of State for Forest Resources Andre de Jesus Moda said Wednesday.
The official made the statement when speaking in the capital Luanda at the second meeting of the group of experts on the implementation of the African Union strategy to tackle illegal wildlife trade.
According to the secretary of state, the year 2017 alone recorded about 1.2 tonnes of ivory and other parts of the mentioned species seized from poachers.
The official said that poachers who cross the Angolan forests come from various countries.
He pointed out that the long maritime, land and air borders of the country leads to the need of funding as well as reinforcement in the inspection and control services.
Angola is hosting the second meeting of the group of experts on the implementation of the African Strategy to Combat the Illegal Exploitation and Trade of Wild Fauna and Flora in Africa from July 25 to 27 in Luanda.
The meeting aims to prepare the implementation of the Wildlife Strategy and the participation of Africa in the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP18) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in May 2019.